Buyagift Discount Code July 2025

How to Give Experiences Without Turning Them Into a Project

There comes a point in most adult lives when gift-giving gets... complicated. Your partner already owns four cashmere jumpers. Your friend doesn't need more candles. You’re not sure what size your brother is, and frankly, neither is he. Enter the concept of the "experience gift" - an increasingly popular solution for people who already have enough stuff, but still, somehow, appreciate being thought of.

Buyagift, one of the UK’s bigger players in the experience-voucher game, is one of several companies trying to solve this problem. It offers a kind of à la carte catalogue of things you can do, eat, or endure - from a five-star spa retreat to drifting a Nissan GT-R around a tarmac loop somewhere off the M25. The idea is simple: Buy something fun or unusual for someone else to do, hand them a voucher wrapped in minimal guilt, and let them sort it out.

It’s a tidy concept. The execution is mostly as straightforward as promised. Just don’t expect magic.

Variety: The Occasional Curse of Choice

To be clear, Buyagift really does offer a wide range of options. A quick search turns up everything from sushi-making masterclasses and evening helicopter tours to llama trekking and murder mystery train dinners. There are even gift packages that promise "2 for 1" thrills - which may sound like a sales gimmick, but in practice often means your awkward suggestion of flamenco lessons becomes someone's date night.

There are, of course, some quirks to be aware of. Many of these packages involve you (or your recipient) choosing from a list of third-party providers. That can be a benefit - more choice, more flexibility - but it also means the experience can vary hugely depending on location, provider quality, and availability. One spa day might involve a peaceful retreat in the Cotswolds; another might require navigating a leisure pool wedged between a carpet shop and a KFC off the A3.

The better premium experiences tend to come with higher price tags and less flexibility. For example, that dreamy ride on the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express? It’s available, yes - but think of it less as a spontaneous gift and more as a luxury rail holiday that happens to begin with a voucher. You’ll still need to do the legwork (and pay) to make it happen.

Adrenaline, Yes. Logistics, Maybe

If your intended recipient is into experiences that involve velocity, danger, or wearing a harness, Buyagift has you covered. There are supercar driving days, paintball showdowns, and indoor skydiving sessions. These are often competitively priced, and in many cases, they're genuinely memorable - even when it turns out your acceleration skills are more BBC Two than Top Gear.

But these gift options also come with fine print. Event days can book up fast, especially on weekends, and some venues only run on certain dates. The company offers free exchanges and voucher extensions, which helps, but it doesn’t entirely remove the admin from the experience, especially if your gift recipient is the type to ignore expiry dates until they’re two weeks past.

Food and Drink: High Floor, Low Ceiling

Dining experiences are perhaps the safest category in Buyagift’s stable: afternoon teas, wine tastings, chef’s table dinners. These rarely disappoint, though they also don’t usually surprise. Think of them as dependable rather than jaw-dropping - more like sending someone to a set-menu meal at a restaurant you found on TripAdvisor than gifting them the culinary equivalent of a private concert from Ottolenghi.

You might encounter a few charming moments - a glass of bubbles handed out without asking, or a waiter pretending to be impressed by your knowledge of truffle oil - but generally these are curated, wrapped-in-ribbon versions of nice evenings out. They are organised fun. That’s not a criticism. It’s just worth knowing that a voucher won’t turn Nando’s into Nobu, even if it does come with a bow.

Who Experience Gifts Are Really For

It’s tempting to think of experience gifts as effortless, but they’re best seen as thoughtful gestures that require just enough homework to show you cared - but not so much that you ruined the surprise. They tend to work best for people who enjoy planning and don’t mind a bit of legwork. That said, if you hand this to someone chronically overwhelmed by to-do lists, don’t act shocked when the voucher sits in a drawer for nine months. (Buyagift’s customer service will gently nudge them before it expires, but there’s only so much help you can give someone who ghosts their own gift.)

Still, when they work, these gifts can be genuinely appreciated. Not because the recipient necessarily wanted to extract honey from a hive with a beekeeper in Kent, but because doing something together - or even alone - can be more memorable than another scarf.

Yes, experience gifts can feel a little pre-packaged on the surface. They can involve a few hoops. But if you choose the right one, the upside is real: a day out, a nice memory, and no wrapping paper in sight.

Price, Packages, and Picking the Right One

Gift vouchers from Buyagift generally start at £30 and climb from there. You’ll find bundles that let recipients choose from hundreds of experiences; they also do a decent job rotating seasonal deals and promo codes. The ability to personalise messages is a nice touch, and the checkout is suitably painless.

For those trying to be budget-conscious without looking it, group-gifting is a viable angle. Pooling with friends or family gives you access to the higher-end packages - the Spa Getaway or Star Chef tasting menus - that genuinely impress without tipping into absurd extravagance.

But just be clear about expectations. If you buy someone a two-person adventure day and they later discover it involves four hours of axe-throwing in the drizzle with a stag party from Wolverhampton, that’s on you.

The Bottom Line

Buyagift isn’t redefining gift culture. But it does simplify the giving of something thoughtful, slightly different, and fairly polished - without demanding too much interrogation about preferences, sizes, or home decor tastes.

You’re offering the possibility of a good day out. That’s it. But that’s also quite a lot.

Just remember the unspoken rule of experience gifts: if it involves llamas, someone’s going to bring snacks. Usually not the llamas.

What you need to know